Emoticons are becoming a regular part of our correspondence.
We received a curling report this week from the ladies league containing a smiley face.
We, in the newsroom, think this is a first for us and made us pause to ponder, how will we marry new forms of language (specifically symbols for emotions) with ancient forms of media, like the newspaper.
The Oxford Dictionary brought legitimacy to this conversation in 2015 when it named a pictograph its word of the year.
The ‘Face with Tears of Joy’ emoji “best reflected the ethos, mood, and preoccupations of 2015,” said publishers.
With the increased use of smartphones, the use of emojis has soared in popularity this year. Even the word itself is becoming commonplace.
An emoji is defined by Oxford Dictionary as a small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion in electronic communication.
They say it is derived from Japanese and is similar to the English word emoticon (a facial expression composed of keyboard characters, such as the winky face ;).
According to Oxford, “Emojis are no longer the preserve of texting teens – instead, they have been embraced as a nuanced form of expression, and one which can cross language barriers.”
‘Face with Tears of Joy’ was chosen because it was the most used emoji globally in 2015.
Purists will say a symbol is not a word but the truth in all written language is made of nothing more than symbols in the form of letters and language is an ever-evolving beast.
Have you ever noticed that often the tone is lacking in an email or text message?
Something typed with the intention of being friendly or as a joke can be easily misconstrued to be snarky and rude?
Perhaps that is why there is an increasing popularity in the use of emojis. (Although just because you stick a happy face at the end of a hateful message, it doesn’t make it hurt less.)
The point is, in a world where all of our correspondence is extremely brief – often 140 characters or less – emojis can be very helpful.
Emojis probably won’t be around too long in their current form but we wouldn’t be surprised if they are replaced by something similar – like in all areas of language, ever evolving.
So perhaps we will start seeing emojis used in novels, newspapers and other print media. If you haven’t explored the different options, you will be amazed at the varied and nuanced facial expressions available to express your every emotion.